The NBA has announced Toronto has been selected to host the 2016 all-star game, the first time the showcase event has been held outside the United States.

"We are thrilled that Toronto is hosting," said Deputy commissioner Adam Silver. "As the site of the first game ever in the NBA, Toronto is an ideal location for this global basketball celebration."

The game will be played on February 14 at Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Raptors and the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toronto hosted the first-ever Basketball Association of America game on November 1, 1946, in which the Toronto Huskies lost to the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens. The BAA was the forerunner of the NBA.

The 2015-16 season marks the Raptors' 20th anniversary. Toronto have been consistently ranked among the also-rans in recent seasons and are unlikely to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference this season.

They traded for Memphis star Rudy Gay last season and acquired Knicks sharpshooter Steve Novak, and Indiana duo DJ Augustin and Tyles Hansborough in the off-season.